It being 7:30, I will call the Monday, January 5th, 2026 meeting to order. First order of visit is the call role of the counselors. Councelor Brooks, >> present. >> Councelor Craig Cormier, >> present. >> Councelor General Owens, >> present. >> Councelor Harder, >> present. >> Councelor Heath, >> present. Council elect Hegelan
>> present. >> Councel Kazinskus >> present. >> Console elect >> present. >> Council Tibbo Munosz >> and Council Tyros >> present. >> Okay. I have nine councils present.
Next order of business. I'm going like to administer the oath of office for those who were not present [clears throat] at the January 5th, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. We have council elect Brad Hegland be the only one that will [snorts] be present. I state your name. I grant
>> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly square >> that faithfully and impartially >> that faithfully and >> perform the duties that he counsel >> perform the duties of counsel >> according to the law >> according to the law >> and the best of my abilities >> the best of my abilities Get around.
No one should. Okay. The next order of business is the election of council president for the year 2026. Are there at this time nomination now open for council president councelor um he >> thank you madam clerk lead in my
nomination when uh then council president now councelor kazinsus stepped down she had some pretty big shoes to be filled and I think me the right choice in at the time nominating and electing councelor Tyros to the role of council president. I think he filled that role
um adeptly and competently um with grace and impartiality. I think in his time as our council president, he led us to have more oversight, more accountability, and uh took the time to make sure that all of that was done fairly and equitably
for all. It's not an easy role to take on, and I think he's done it well um with a full-time job, a growing family, and so I'm pleased to nominate Councelor George Cyrus. Thank you. >> Okay. Council Heen nominates George
Tyros. Council Tyrros and seconded by Councelor Baltison. >> Madame Clerk. >> Yes. Council, >> I'd like to excuse myself from the discussion and election to council president as per the advice previously given by the attorney general's office. >> Okay.
I'm recognizing that council Tyrros will be recusing himself tonight for council president. Are there any other nominations for council president? >> Motion to close nominations. >> Second. >> Motion made by councelor Tony, seconded by
councelor Hegel to close the nomination. All in favor indicate by saying I. I. >> All those opposed say nay. Nomination now close. I will call the role of members. Please name the council of your choice.
>> Councelor Brooks. >> Councelor George Dyrus. >> Councelor Craig Cormier. >> Councelor George Tyrus. >> Council General Dawitz. [clears throat] >> Councelor George Dyrus. >> Councelor Hardurn. >> Councelor George Tyrros. >> Council Heath.
>> Councelor George Tyrros. >> Council Hegler. Councelor George Tyrros. >> Councel Kazinsquez. >> Councelor George Tyros. >> Councelor Toma. >> Councelor George Tyros. >> Okay.
>> With eight votes, um, Council George Tyrus is elected the president for 2026. I turn the ceremonial gap over to him. Yes. [applause] [applause] Thank you.
>> Now move on to the opening prayer and pledge of allegiance. >> God, we thank thee for bringing us together this evening. inquire us to worthy deeds and sound decisions and direct us towards the attainment of good city government. We pray thee to bless and protect all the people of our city
and also guide and inspire us that we may liberate in unity and harmony. Amen. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and
justice for all. Announcement [snorts] of open meeting recordings. Any person may make a video or audio recording of an open session of a meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the chair as to the number, placement, and operation used so
as to not interfere with the conduct of the meeting. Any person intending to make such recordings should notify the chair forth with all documents and exhibits used or referenced at the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the chair as become part of the meeting minutes. Is anyone recording tonight's meeting? No response.
Readings of minutes of prior meetings. There are none. There are no public hearings. There are no communications from the mayor. Petitions, applications, and communications. There are none. Reports of standing committees. Economic and community development committee.
Item 11454. Report on the investigation of the Mackie Park project. Councilinsus. >> Thank you, President Tyros. I make a motion to place the item on file. >> Second. >> Motion made by councelor Kazinskus. Second by councelor Cormier to place the
item on file. Director Stevens, I'd like to call you up to give your brief presentation on this item. [snorts] Allow me a second just to pass around Thank you.
Thank you. So, in a 12-month period, I'll just start with a short introduction if you can uh welcome me. Um, in a 12-month period, I I this is my second for city council. My
first day, January 21st, 2025, I stood up here um and formally made a speech to you all that, you know, I would hope to lead the department and bring it to
a mode of transparency, active communication. Um, and with that, I hope that we've been able to really succeed. And I sat actually today in one of my one-on- ones with my assistant director, and she asked me,
you know, we're everyone who's in that department is passionate about the work that we do and why we are passionate, why I was passionate. And it took a while to get a response to her. And I eventually said that I think that the
department work that we do gives people hope for the city that they can feel pride in the parks that we have [snorts] in the projects that we see continue, the developments that we see through.
And despite that, we have to still be responsible for the times where we don't meet the expectations. I wasn't present for here for the department when the investigation in Mackie Park happened,
but despite that, I'm still leading the department. And it's my responsibility to still stand here today and apologize not only to the city council, not only to the disability commission of which I've been present for for many of their meetings over the last year, but also
the city in large. Um Maggie Park by councelor Tyros's or Council President Tyrros's um investigation did not meet the expectations that the city should have for its parks. And for that I truly apologize.
Um following that I will lead us into kind of the presentation I have in front of everyone and well is also going to be part of the meeting packet. Um um so for the project update the site
preparations these are by and large um updates that I've given over the last couple months in regards to the echoev standing committee. The site preparations for the concrete for the ramp um were completed on November 13th.
On Monday, December 8th, the contractor was notified uh notified the engineering team at Tin Bond that the only um remaining items which were the accessibility table and the railings were uh outstanding and that the
accessibility table was being uh was actively delayed and that the railings were being sent out to be powder coated. those were since uh delivered and the installation of the rails have been completed as of the week of December 15th and that the only remaining work is the installation and welding of the
accessible tables on the first tier of the park. Um so despite me being able to have a lot under my control, unfortunately weather is not one of those and this morning being a seven degree day does not mix well with active welding. So I look forward to continuing
to give these um uh presentation or these um updates uh as the council or the echo dev steering committee would see fit as this project closes to completion. It's an
unfortunate time to be continuing this work in the winter as it doesn't really um meet with what we would hope to see for the timeline of the completed work. Um, but I'm open to continuing this conversation
and make sure that the council is updated with this project as as we look to see it completed. A few comments on the park ADA's compliance and these are kind of where the additional papers come into uh play as well. Um, following the concerns over
the ADA compliance on Mackie Park, I believe a few comments uh should be made that on October 16th, 2024, a letter responding to Commissioner Tom Zupa's comments from Tyan Bond. Uh, this was the notice of violation, I believe dated August 30th, 2024 um uh was sent with
their recommendations with the accessibility options that we move forward with. This option is the accessibility ramp that has now been constructed on the first and second terrace and the inclusion of the accessible table so that all features relevant to the park are accessible from
the street level. Um the project also obviously includes the ADA compliant access to the third terrace from the west street parking area and the grades at that location of the installed ramp within the bounds of the park meet the grading requirements uh for proper accessibility. Um, I'd like to also
touch on that the building permit B-25-889 was issued prior to construction beginning and covered all relevant work uh for the this relevant work for the park for this additional work. Um, necessary supporting documentation
included uh site plans. These response letters included and the licenses for the contractors as well as uh relevant insurance information for them uh were all gathered and reviewed by the building department prior to issuing the permit.
Following from here, the inclusion of stone dust was at the recommendation of Tyan Bond who responded in their October 16 in their October 16th, 2024 letter saying, quote, I believe is on the back side of the first page of the Mackie
Park notice of violation response under 521 CMR section 29.1 that quote, "When properly installed, it is our opinion that stone dust is a stable, firm, and slip resistant material that is widely used in outdoor applications. where universal access is
required. As the stone dust was the only outstanding item outside of the additional work which has been actively acknowledged and uh completed the being the ramp, the railing and the accessibility tables. Uh really the stone dust was the only outstanding
item. And so the first uh email correspondence dated Monday, December 15th on the front page with Melissa McDonald, building commissioner uh states, quote, "As described and proposed, the stone dust surface may meet the minimum requirements of 521 CMR
subject to proper installation and inspection." And just going back to the notice of violation response from Tyen Bond, they put forward in the second paragraph under the 521 CMR section 29.1 on the back of the first page, quote,
"In our opinion, the stone dusted Mackie Park has been sufficiently compacted to provide a satisfactory and stable surface. However, maintenance will be required to ensure its continued firmness and stability. The park being completed just about 14 15 months ago um
does not require further compaction over the last 15 months of the amount of foot traffic that the park has seen um in order to maintain the um compaction that it had at the time of its completion. Um
on December 15th, 2025, the building commissioner had asked the engineering team to confirm that this additional work would correct the compliance issues with which Matt Warzk from Ty Bond, this being the other uh submitt dated on the
front page uh Monday, January 5th, um that the additional he he confirmed on December 16th that in time Bond's opinion, the additional work corrects the 521 CMR concerns raised at the And there has been no further relevant correspondence given from the building
commissioner uh following their confirmation of uh what in their opinion uh substantiates a completion of the uh notice of violations that were put forward by Commissioner Zupa. Um following this just to touch as well on
the financials of the total funds for the park the breakdown is as follows. $6,840.70 remaining from the Mackie Park expense account, $18,25344 from the Park Street Park expense account, which were remaining ARPA funds
which had to be expended by end of calendar year last year and $34,77253 of downtown phase 3 uh also remaining ARPA funds. So the total encumbrance of that was $59,866.67 67 where the total contract amount for
this additional work was $58,863. The reason why a lot of this work took longer than expected was because again this is a fault of our department. This isn't something that we should rely on the free cash and city funds in order to
expedite. This shouldn't be at the cost of the taxpayers for our failings. and it should be something that we figure out as city employees how to make our problem and our solution. Um, so I I
believed that throughout this process and it unfortunately made it so that this project took longer than expected. I over a year now since the initial investigation into Mackie Park. So I will continue to apologize throughout
this um presentation and speech, but um hope that that is some solace that that that was one of the things that we were hoping to accomplish with with this addition additional work. And just wrapping off the presentation, the last
two pages are just screenshots and um yeah, screenshots of both the change order, the signed reclasses between myself uh the previous uh building uh or the previous city auditor, John Richard. Um I believe there's a few signatures
from the mayor in there as well. So, um those are the four reclasses relevant to um those funds for the total amount on the um reclass dated September 10th of the $59,8667
um as well as the change order uh five. And the last page is a snapshot of each of the reclasses being confirmed in our Munis financial system just to give further documentation that those reclasses were properly completed um and
put forward into the correct account so that we can expend them for the additional work. Again, to finish, I apologize again for the city and I hope that over the last year, the work
that we've been able to do both with this and other projects show that we're committed to writing the wrongs. Um and and acknowledging that, you know, there there are things that we we could have done better and that under
hopefully my leadership in this department and under the staff that we now have within the department [snorts] that that's something that is a time of the past and something that we can eventually look back in the rearview mirror and think, you know, that a time
long long past. Um but thank you Thank [snorts] you, Director Stevens. Any discussion? Councelor Kazinskus. >> Thank you, President Tyrros. Um, I do have a couple of questions. They're more for the mayor, though, if that's I don't
know if Mr. Mayor can speak. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh so just regarding the project and um well first I do want to say um that I alluded to at the last meeting director Stevens um wasn't here
as I asked him not to come so we could do it at this meeting but um basically I you know I do just want to reiterate that I want to commend him. him. I know he did a lot of apologizing, but um something that I touched on at the last meeting is that, you know, I do want to commend him not only for his
work on this, but also for his leadership overall in that department. [snorts] Um I think he's done a fantastic job and, you know, being the chair of the economic development committee from the city council for the last year. We met on this item many many times as you know you're at those
meetings and um he was diligent in all of the updates that we got the work that he did and I you know the timeline I believe everything that was in control of the department once his leadership took over I believe was controlled very well and and done as best that he could. The followup was clear. This is not the
first time I've seen these documents. We've seen these many times as they've been um at our committee meetings as well and available to the public throughout this whole process. Uh and so while I appreciate taking ownership uh for what was done and you know getting best practices I think for the future
and committing to those I I I appreciate that so much uh from him. But I do think that um it would have been nice to be able to have touched on the last season for Mackie Park but the fact that looking forward we're going to be able to do that. I really appreciate that. So, I just wanted to really highlight
that for director Stevens, a because he wasn't here when I had kind of alluded to it at the last meeting, but also because I think he and his department has done solid work on this project, and I think it is something that is worth acknowledging. Um, and so, uh, Mr. Mayor, just as we
seems like this is coming to a close, we know the one last thing that needs to be done with the welding. We can't do anything about the weather on that. Uh but I just to you know in the spirit of transparency and clarification purposes for the city council as well as the public watching um on this project is
Mackie Park now ADA compliant. >> Uh yes is the short answer for that. The um that way that we verify that is go through the review of the building commission to make sure it meets the requirements of the CMRs that implement the ADA into Massachusetts there. Uh and
then through the verification through the different engineering uh contractors that we have. So they have confirmed for us that it is currently ADA compliant. >> Thank you. Um another question is Mackie Park now complete. We know that there's some welding that needs to be done but is it now complete once that welding is
done for the next season? I suppose that it is yes most ideal to use it. [laughter] >> Yes. Uh once the welding is done the project will be fully completed at that time. >> Thank you. And my last question I think is do you anticipate asking the council
for any further monetary appropriations for Mackie Park? [snorts] >> No. >> Thank you. >> No. >> Those are my questions. >> Thank you, councelor. Any further questions for the mayor while he's at the podium? >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. >> Thank you, Mr. President.
>> Any further discussions on this item? >> If there are no objections, I have a brief statement I'd like to give on this item. My investigation into this project in the fall of 2024 and its recommendations produced clearly showed room for improvement. I stand by my vote on the
original appropriation and I still think that the original intent was a good one. Like other areas we have prioritized, this project represents a departure, an attempt to do something differently with our downtown. Demolition of Mackie Block left an orphaned lot in the heart of our
city, a space that was abandoned by previous administrations and likely would not have served another commercial or municipal purpose for decades. And to turn that lot into a downtown asset for $180,000 seemed like a good deal. And I want to be very clear on this next point. That is the only appropriation
that this council was ever asked to approve. The final price tag was close to three times that amount and it was years behind schedule for what should have been a relatively simple project. Going forward, there are two critical learnings we have as a council. First, whenever we approve spending, we must
build in more robust oversight. The park as it exists today is fundamentally different than from the design that was explained to this council to secure our initial approval. Furthermore, many more funds were pushed into this project as delays led to cost increases, all of which happened prior to my section 25
investigation. The design changes were not reported, the cost increases were not disclosed, and our approval for the additional taxpayer expenditure was never requested. I hope this council agrees that's no way to do business as a city. Second, we
must recognize that the financial failures here are just as vital to learn from as the regulatory ones. While it was the ADA and regulatory compliance issues that brought this attention to the site, the financial aspects are just important to learn from. As I already mentioned, after the council approved
the initial appropriation, additional money was put into the project without council approval or even notification. This included funding to address the accessibility issues. This isn't just a paperwork error. It is a failure of transparency. If this had been presented to the council as a half million dollar
project, I would have voted no. This situation proves that we must continue to insist on greater oversight. We must continue to ask more questions, sometimes hard and uncomfortable questions. and that demanding proof or requesting supporting documentation isn't abnormal.
It's a part of the job that we've all been entrusted to do. That we'll have a vote on this item. Just a voice vote. Motion made by councelor Kazinska, second by councelor Cormier to place this item on file. All
those in favor I. >> I. All those opposed, no. >> Motion passes. There's no unfinished business or matters for reconsideration. New business item 11753, council rules.
>> Councelor Heglin. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I move to temporarily adopt the rules until new rules are established. >> Second. >> Motion made by councelor Heglin, second by councelor Durn allowance. Is there discussion? Councelor Heglin. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Three to the council. Just for some clarification,
um, normally per rule 20, our rules are enforced for the duration of the session unless otherwise suspended, I think. Um, so normally they would continue on and that's what we're doing today, just adopting them as is. Uh, however, if this was a brand new council or since we are just reestablishing ourselves to
give people time to review them, I word mine as a temporary adoption. Um, that way should anyone anticipate any changes, we can have a more formal discussion and debate later on. Thank you. >> Thank counselor. Any further discussion? Council Brooks,
>> I I guess through the chair or to the chair. Um, are we anticipating making changes to the rules? >> Uh, that would be under the finance committee's jurisdiction and counselors are welcome to submit any proposed changes that they'd like to see made to the rules that'll follow that process.
>> So, so there there is at this point in time there's no >> I I actually have some changes that I would like to introduce, but that's not for this discussion right now. >> I understand. Y Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion? >> Make this roll call. >> Council Brooks.
>> Yes. >> Councelor Craig Cormier. >> Yes. >> Council Dawis. Yes. >> Council Harder. >> Yes. >> Council Heath. >> Yes. >> Council Heglland. >> Yes. >> Council Kaziscus. >> Yes. >> Council Tony.
>> Yes. >> And President [snorts] Taylor. >> Yes. >> Nine news. The motion passes. [clears throat] >> Councilor comments and remarks. Are there any counselor comments or remarks this evening? Council. >> [snorts]
>> Thank you, Council President. Uh just wanted to take a minute just to recognize uh Cam Gamash who scored 10,00 points for the Gardeners boy basketball boys basketball team verse Frontier. Unfortunately, they they lost the ended up losing a game the game. It was a
phenomenal game to be at. Um but uh got the opportunity to see him score quite a few of those points and uh it was a great evening and a a great day for Garter basketball. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Any further comments? I would just like to close the meeting
by thanking councelor Eglund for the nice words during the nomination process and thank all my fellow counselors for their vote vote of support. I look forward to serving this next year as council president look forward to the work. >> That I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion made by councelor Tony second by
councelor Gazinskus to adjurnn. All those in favor I. >> All those against no. Motion passes. Father all as we [laughter] thank thee for the opportunity of joint deliberation and action witness during the course of this meeting. Bless the
Lord all who are gathered here and the people representatives we are and do thou attend to our common welfare until our next meeting. Amen. >> Stand.